Things God Wants Us to Know - Part 2 — Brother Andrew

In that passage I just started reading in Revelation 17, and I better hurry. Yes, there is again that word, the Book of Life. The beast that you saw was and is not, verse 8, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition.

The Beast, the Book of Life, and the Persecuted Church

And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life, from the foundation of the world, will marvel. Now what is going to happen, verse 12? The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.

These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast, and they will make war on the land. Here is the secret. Why marvel? We are facing, dear friends, dear brothers and sisters, we are facing the greatest struggle that the Church of Jesus Christ has seen in the world.

Because all the symbols used in the Revelation about the beast and the heart and the woman and Babylon and the ten kings and the ten horns and what have you, it says they will become of one mind in order to make war.

The Church, Christian country like Britain, forget it. There is no Christian country in the world, certainly not in Britain, certainly not in Holland. They will make war on the land. The person of Jesus Christ is the only object of persecution.

And in any society, in any country, be it Britain or Russia or China or Cuba or Ethiopia, if a person is not a committed Christian, he can easily escape persecution. But the person of Jesus Christ in us, in people, is the subject of persecution.

So there is only persecution there where there is a real Church of Jesus Christ, where Jesus lives in people, where people have their names written in the book of life. That makes persecution an honor and nothing to be afraid of.

That again is exactly what the Scripture says in Philippians chapter 1, verse 27. Paul says that with one mind we should be striving side by side to the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

In other words, do not be intimidated by anything that the enemy says or does. Because the only weapon that the enemy has is intimidation. This is a war of words. This is an ideological war. This is a spiritual battle that we are engaged in.

And the enemy has no weapon that he can destroy us with except with his teaching on atheism, socialism, nothingness, evolution, abortion, and all the issues that we are facing today and we have not really found an answer to yet.

And we will only find it when we are of one mind and we get together on behalf of the suffering Church, realizing who the enemy is. We should not be so scared of the enemy, friends. There is nothing to be afraid of.

The Privilege of Suffering for Christ

It is an honor in being able to suffer for Christ. That's why Paul says in that same chapter, Well, not only to believe on Jesus, that would be easy, wouldn't it? You can even believe out of purely selfish motives, because you don't want to go to hell.

Oh, great deal. So you choose Jesus, you go to heaven. Oh, what a joy in heaven when you arrive. As C .T. Studd said, Half an hour of quietness in heaven and you arrive. You know that text in Revelation.

There's more to it than Christianity. Young people, there's a lot more to Christianity. Unto you the privilege is given not only to believe on him, to escape eternal damnation, but also to suffer for his name.

And then I can see that face of Paul just gleaming with joy, radiant with the joy of Jesus Christ. Also, suffer for his name. That's what Brother John said when he met those believers in Russia. They were radiant with joy.

They were strong. When Galena came out of prison, she said, I came with a harvest of souls. She was in prison to win souls, because in that prison were people who never go to church. And she was willing to go to prison to win them for Jesus.

And unless, unless we become a one-minded Galena, and all the others that we mention in our open doors publications, unless we become one with the suffering church of Jesus Christ today, we will never be able to understand why this persecution takes place.

Nor will we ever have the joy that comes out of those people that have paid the price for Jesus Christ. Right? You believe, John? That's it. He'll make war on the land. And when Paul was grieving murder and going to Damascus to arrest the Christians and throw them in prison, have them killed if he could, all of a sudden Jesus Christ meets him on the way to Damascus.

Saul’s Encounter with the Persecuted Christ

Now what does the voice from heaven say? Paul, now Saul, Saul, why do you persecute the church in Damascus? No? Why do you persecute me? You're not persecuting a church. Today the church is not persecuted.

Jesus Christ is persecuted, because he is the only one that the devil wants to get out of the way. But he couldn't care less about lukewarm Christians that bide their time and try to make it to heaven if they can, even if it has to be by the skin of their teeth.

God calls for people to take sides with Jesus Christ. And I tell you, if we do not go to the heathen, they will come to us as occupation armies. They'll come to us as revolutionaries. We've got to pay the price.

We've got to know what's happening. They will make war on the land. And I tell you now, there will come a time when China and Russia will unite again. And they'll paralyze much of the world by that action.

One morning we'll wake up and there will be no newspapers, because they're not going to ask you to fight. There will also come a time when atheism and communism will make a pact with Islam. And when that happens, there will be no business possible anymore for any western country, much less for anyone who names the name of Jesus Christ.

And the beasts and all those mentioned here in those last chapters of Revelation will all become of one mind. All the enemies of Christ will become of one mind to make one final assault on the land. They will make war on the land.

The Lamb’s Victory over His Enemies

Therefore make sure that you know the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. How often has that not been proclaimed in this city by Charles Haddon Spurgeon and many other godly men.

They will make war on the land. Why marvel? What does it say in the same verse? And the Lamb will conquer them. Hallelujah! I did nothing to be afraid of. Was I scaring you? No, I wasn't, was I? I should have finished reading the sentence.

Christ’s Victory Is Shared with His Called People

And the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. You know, we got a bad habit in Christianity. We take a little part of a verse out with our scissors and we make it into a chorus or we frame it and make it a nice wall painting.

Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. I love that. But it really doesn't say that. It says that all the enemies will become of one mind and they will make war on the land. And the war will conquer them for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

That's what the Bible says. All those verses on victory and glory and joy and all that is always placed in the setting of a spiritual conflict. And if we avoid it, that conflict will never have part in the joy.

In the battle they grew strong, Hebrews 11 says. Out of weakness they grew strong. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. In that battle, the final assault on the church of Jesus Christ. As He, Jesus as a person lives in His people they will find out that they cannot win.

Because Jesus wins. Does Jesus only win? Does He win alone? Again, I should have finished the whole verse. Oh, never, never cut up a verse. I said the Lamb will conquer them. That's marvelous. I wish every Muslim to the communist countries, every Muslim to the Islamic countries would know that.

Of course they have it in the Bible, they should know. The Lamb will conquer them for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and those with Him. See, Jesus is not fighting alone. He is fighting with us in the battle.

And you are not fighting alone. Jesus is fighting with you in the battle. This is the most exciting thing about the Christian life. He is Lord of Lords, King of Kings and those with Him. Those that are called and they are chosen.

God has called us. God is calling us today. God is calling you through open doors. You know why the name of our mission is Open Doors? Because there are no closed doors. Simple as that. I have a very simple philosophy and a very simple theology.

Open Doors and Bold Gospel Witness

There are no closed doors. And if any of you wants to challenge me on that and say, Oh, I know a place where you cannot get as a Christian to witness, tell me. And I will tell you publicly how you can get there.

I may not be able to tell you how you can get back. But I can tell you how you can get in. No problem. When I was in Angola recently, the Lord enabled me to preach the gospel in the SWAPO headquarters.

And I was very impressed. And on every desk I saw a statue of Lenin. And I went to the two leading ministers and said, It is not fair that your boss is represented on every desk. I want my boss represented there as well.

And I started giving a Bible. I said, I wanted to place this Bible right there next to Lenin. And they did it. Sure. If I tell them, they do it. We got to be aggressive in love. Because people are just waiting for us.

A Czech, leading Czech communist said, I can only honor my opponent in a debate if he makes an all-out effort to convert me. But we don't. That's why communism despises us. We sneak in through the iron curtain like open doors.

We ought to be more bold and proclaim through the air. And by going in and preaching and getting more Bibles in, that we are not afraid of that. We are not afraid to get caught. We are not afraid to go to prison.

We will not lie to get our way out. We will speak the truth in love and pay the price. Those that are with him are called. God is calling us today to join the open doors family, to do something about the situation.

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers

God is calling. God has chosen. There are some people here with special skills. There are people that can pray. And I think that prayer is one of the greatest gifts that God can give to a person. And you don't have to be old for it.

Young people can pray too. But there's one danger. I want to warn you against prayer now. You may never have been warned against prayer before. Don't pray if you are not willing to become the answer to your own prayer.

If you pray, God, send somebody to China with your word. Don't pray if you are not willing to have God say one day, How about answering your own prayer? Why don't you go? Well, what could be your answer?

Lord, I didn't mean it. And God said, Why did you pray? Your prayer can become a sin, the Bible says. Don't pray. Lord, send enough money to open doors so they can pay for 4 million Bibles to China and 10 million Bibles which the Russians have actually asked us to give them.

And the Poles in Poland have asked us for 1 million Bibles. Don't ask God to send money to open doors if you're not willing to hear him say, How about your own bank account? And that money you save for a new car or for whatever.

Don't pray. It's too risky. It's dangerous because God may choose you to become the answer to your own prayer, to go, to be what he wants you to be in this world today. We've got to listen to those pioneers of old, those missionaries and those military leaders and those politicians that still believed in truth and spoke truth.

Freedom, Security, and Spiritual Courage

It seems to be a rare quality today, but how we need those men and women. I've been so challenged, and this is not very charming for the British to hear, but let me tell it anyway. But I was in America, and I was checking and studying the Encyclopedia.

It happened to be the Encyclopedia Britannica, so I might as well share it. But that famous speech that Patrick Henry delivered on March 23rd in 1775, and because of that speech they made the decision to fight the British and become a free country.

And this is what he said, Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? You know, today it seems that we are facing a situation where people think they're not going to pay with their life and rather go down in chains and slavery.

Then again, Benjamin Franklin said, If you sacrifice freedom for security, you are not worth freedom nor security. We have to be fighters, not just for the physical security of our country, but spiritual fighters for those that are paying the price of our liberty, for the Galenas, the Bondarenkos, the Aidas, the Vinces, the Kriutskovs, and all the others.

Faithfulness to God’s Call

We have to be fighters. Can God still get through to us? Can he still call us? Can he still choose us? And the only answer that can come from us is a third word, and faithful. Oh, I can be jubilant about the Lamb who will conquer them for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and those with him are called and chosen.

God does all that. And I have to be faithful. If I am not faithful, God's calling and God's choosing is all in vain. And God says that the Lamb will conquer and those that are with him. The Lamb will not conquer alone.

And the Christians are the only ones that can prolong the misery in the world by their inactivity, their unbelief, their apathy. We have a tremendous responsibility to be faithful to God's call so that the joy will be restored and the spiritual power and the backbone that we so badly need to become again the salt of this society, to become again the pillars on which this nation will rest, to offer liberty to those that flee from tyrannical regimes, and to become again a nation like Britain has been in the past, a time when Britain was at its greatest and thousands of mystics were gone from our shores to reach the uttermost parts of the world.

And the British and Foreign Bible Society was born and hundreds of millions of copies through the BNF spread around the world. Why should not God do that again if we are faithful? And I want to close with that challenge.

A Personal Decision to Be Used by God

Let's not forget. God wants you to know about the victory because the privilege is that we are being attacked for the life of the Son of God in us, the Lamb. He, they, plural, will make war on the Lamb, single.

The life of Jesus Christ in me, in you, in Galena, in Grapov, in Ida, is attacked. He is the subject, not us, not the Church as an institution. People can make the difference. People can turn the tide.

You can. There's no way of ever finding out the change that God can work out through one man, one woman, one boy, one girl, who's fully dedicated to himself. As a matter of fact, the world has not seen it yet.

The world is waiting. God is waiting. And I wonder if you would decide tonight to be that person, just that person. Say, oh, I want God to use me. I want to learn to pray. I want to be victorious. I want my name on that book of life that no one can take away.

Well, that's why we have that card here. Every one of you, I think, has received that card. You can fill it out. You can fill out what you want to do. Get on our mailing list. That's the easiest. But I warn you against it.

Don't do it if you don't want to become an answer to your own prayer. You can become a believer. You can have your name written in the book of life tonight. And you can rededicate your life to Jesus. Commit yourself to prayer, or maybe travel, if you're willing to go and not come back.

That is. And then, of course, when you fill all that out and leave your name out, you're still nowhere. That's how most people react. Everything, Lord, but except my name. I don't want to have proof of my dedication.

Crazy Christians that we are. When will we become of one mind and do the will of God? With joy. Without any reserves. Just giving. Throwing away our life for Jesus Christ. We can pick it up and make something new and exciting and strong and vigorous.

And valuable for his own kingdom. I'll close now with an invitation. I spoke to a young man here tonight. He was in full-time service for the Suffering Church in Eastern Europe. And he had been a Christian for a while, but never really decided to dedicate his life to Jesus.

In 1974, I spoke in a meeting in Plymouth, and there he did it. Tonight, Gary's in a meeting here, and he told me that that was the evening that his life was changed. Because he made a decision after I made an invitation.

It's as simple as that. But you will never be the same anymore. Nor will the church in Russia and in China be the same anymore, because your life is going to have value for them. I want you to make the decision right now.

There's no need to wait. No need to postpone. You've heard it. You've heard more than four things that God wants you to know. You've heard a lot. Maybe you heard too much. Okay, give it back to Jesus.

The Call to Total Dedication

Let him sort it out. But you make a decision tonight. Say, yes, Lord. All I have, all I am, all I will be, all I will have. All for you. You take care of my life now. I'll go when you call me. I'll go where you call me.

I'll do what you tell me. I just say yes. Simple, stupid yes. That's all. Are you ready? Just say yes to Jesus for prayer or whatever God wants you to do. If you say yes, I want to do that. I don't know the consequences, nor do I.

But I want to risk it. Because not doing that is a real risk. I want all the risk to be taken by Jesus Christ, the Almighty Son of God. I want to lay my life, weak, ruined, sinful, on drugs, living for your own self, pressure, or in debt, addicted, or just plain pious.

It's all bad anyway. I want that to be in the hands of Jesus Christ. His big, strong, almighty, pierced hands, pierced for me on the cross. I'll just say yes, Lord. He is my life. It's yours. Lord, there's a terrific battle going on in the hearts of many of us tonight, hearing different voices.

Don't be a fool. Don't throw away your life. Then there's your voice calling for total, radical dedication, body, soul, and spirit. All we have, all we are. All we will have, all we will be. Lord Jesus, I thank you for those that are standing up, and I thank you for those that are sitting down, just as serious.

You know why they're sitting, and you know why many others are standing. They're still going to stand. I want to commit, first of all, those that are standing here, Lord, because we stand with fear and trembling, knowing that the life of Jesus Christ in us will be severely persecuted, that we have to take a stand against all the evil issues in the world, that we will be counted on and known as followers of Jesus Christ, whom they crucified, whom they said, away with him.

Prayer for Faithfulness, Witness, and the Suffering Church

Lord, I ask that you will touch everyone that is standing up and give that call and that choosing of yours and make them faithful the moment when they hear your voice for prayer, for going, for giving, for proclaiming, for being something special to someone else, maybe in their own family or in their neighborhood or in the church.

Lord, we also want to tell you that we are on call. Even in the middle of the night, if you need us, utter a prayer for a person who is being tortured in a concentration camp in Russia. Wake us up at three o 'clock in the morning.

We are at your disposal, Lord, we've just said it. All we have and all we are, good is our time and our rest. Lord, help us tomorrow to put it into practice, to be different Christians, to know that our names are written in the book of life for a purpose, that the battle will go on and Jesus Christ will be victory.

We win. I pray for those that are seated, Lord, you know why. Maybe we already made a decision or maybe we're not ready yet for it. But you know it, Lord. Work out your divine purposes. It includes all of us, the suffering church around the world.